DekuScrub
Avid Member
HEY! i know what youre getting at!
nothing is going to get bigger, snout to vent, than your forearm. unless it something like a mellers, parsons, and occasional veiled. or your forearm is exceptionally small.
grats on the go ahead from your mom, thats what happened on my 12th birthday and my $100 baby veiled came home (btw $100 for a baby veiled is ungodly expensive)
no have you taken into consideration basic husbandry necessities?
im assuming youve read at least a few "care sheets" by this point?
veileds are the most forgiving of novice mistakes but panthers have very similar living conditions.
there is no one pure and simple way of keeping a chameleon sucessfully. youll run into a lot of keepers on these here forums and throughout the interwebs that have contradictory ideas oh what is ideal.
however, there are some simple expenses you'll be needing to consider that are generally agreed upon as necessary.
screen cage, UBV bulb (its a flourecent that comes in either tube or cfl format) supplementation (if kept indoors D3 is going to be a nessecity, frequency and amount is questionable) plants (live or fake, i recommend live it assists with maintaining humidity and psychological well being imo) fake vines and other furnishings (that emulate an arboreal environment) and a means by which to provide water in a rain like manner(you can use a dripper commercially available or you can make pinholes in virtually any vessel and accomplish the same effect, a hand sprayer, a pressure sprayer or a misting system.)
getting the most intense changes in coloration you may want to get a panther. but essentially it comes down to the stimuli that encourages the color change in the first place.
firstly youll want a male. males are much more prone to display. they display for two basic reasons. either as a territorial display to dissuade other males from a dispute and expell them from their territory. or to attract a female.
without multiple chameleons you may end up asking yourself "why dosnt he look so pretty, hes kind of dull"
they dont necessarily need another cham to dispaly their most intense coloration, they will sometime put on displays because they feel threatened. ie. themselves in the mirror or someone/ something they see as a predator or threat.
if you think a chameleon will turn all colors of the rainbow youre sadly mistaken (though many panthers are that way by default). relaxed colors are generally dull in comparison to display mode. and if youre expecting them to turn from red to blue thats just not going to happen. the chromatophores just dont work like that. you may have a veiled that displayed browns in his relaxed coloration, that can transform into intense yellows/greens. or a panther with dull blue background and brick red bars can make intense cobalt and crimson coloration.
so the basic pattern and coloration will remain the same no matter what but is intensified when displaying. which isnt a constant state.
im not trying to dissuade you btw many chams have lovely coloration and patterns even in relaxed states. im just saying you wont get a chance to see the true intensity without those specified stimuli.
i recommend a veiled. the casques can be gorgeous and if you have a nice bloodline you find yourself thoroughly impressed every time you look at him. speaking of which in my opinion female veileds frequently have much more desirable coloration and patterns than you will find in panther females. they have a pinkish, peach, earthy tone no matter the lineage
I love my veiled chams, but I def want to add one of these little ones to my collection some day... SO pretty!
